I just bought a BEAUTIFUL Black and Gold ‘77 Trans-Am. I’ve wanted one since I was 10 years old after seeing “Smokey and the Bandit” for the first time. I still can’t BELIEVE I own one! Gone is the Olds 403 and in went an LS2 engine. It is an AMAZING car and the best looking car EVER made…in my opinion. 🤠
A few random corrections... "S" on the transmission is not Super, it is Second. The spare is not a donut, it is an inflatable spare. I believe the Olds 403 engine was for California due to their emissions requirements. There was no leather in this era. Radial Tuned Suspension, not Radical. Downshifting will always slow a car - nothing new there - still works that way. Most of the hoses are vacuum lines which controlled many engine functions (especially emission controls) prior to the introduction of basic "computer" controls in the 1980's.
I’ve gotten corrected for 2nd being super on the three speed hydra matic, I’ve been corrected both ways, a lot of people now don’t know one can drive an automatic like a stick zack was like what are you doing when I was shifting the car manually so I figured I’d explain it don’t want to over rev the engine doing it, but get you more control on shifts Thank you so much for the corrections =)
Being a kid in '77 and going to the theater to see Smokey and the Bandit when it first came out, I was immediately hooked on these cars! About a year later , a young couple in our neighborhood got one, I loved hearing that engine startup and seeing moving down the road! They kept it for many years, and eventually traded it in for a viper I believe. I remember too seeing the gold '78 anniversary editions on the road also occasionally, which looked awesome also. Another great video Jay! 😎
A lot of the hoses that appeared in the 70s and 80s were for emissions control. All kinds of vacuum, crank case ventilation and warm up regulation devices. As they age they can cause all kinds of lean running problems when they get stuck open.
Just always blew my mind looking at say 67 mustang engine bay so clean no nonsense fast forward mark v has so much plumbing but makes sense that it’s for emissions
Jimi Hendrix an experience " Foxy " , love the 1977 78 Trans am my favourite muscle car , i will own one soon , great vid all best from Liverpool in UK 💯👍🏽
The "Bandit" version had a "T" top. In California the only engine available was the Olds 403 V8, with TH350 auto. The label under the hood on the core support indicated which engine it had and the vacuum hose routing. The A/C compressor is an aftermarket replacement compressor. The original would have been a GM Harrison A6. All those vacuum hoses are for emission controls.
The car on “Knight Rider” was also a T-top if I remember correctly. It had been customized for the show to make it more futuristic. But it was actually a Transam.
@@glennso47 There were multiple Trans Am's made for the "Knight Rider" TV show by George Barris. There was one which had the complete TV functional interior and multiple stunt models modified to do specific stunts. Most were not Trans Am's, as could be seen, especially when flying through the air in a stunt.It was obvious that the stunt car had a TH200C automatic and was probably a 4 or 6cyl car. There was even a special one made for the C.A.R.R. episode. The Trans Am was basically an appearance option and all the unique parts were available for purchase and be added to any "T" top or solid roof Firebird. On one trip to Universal Studios, they had the complete K.I.T.T. car in an upper-level courtyard, which you could converse with. Ofcourse the voice wasn't William Daniel's. On the studio tour, I saw a couple more K.I.T.T. cars. You can see one of the later tours on RUclips and they have a K.I.T.T. Trans Am parked in death row near the Pontiac Fiero-based Ferrari that Tom Selleck drove in the "Magnum P.I." TV show. I can't begin to tell you how many "Back To The Future" Deloreans I've seen at Universal. It's TV and movies man. Deception is common place.
Along with the loss of horsepower, the smog regulations also forced the manufacturers to clean up the emissions. All the hoses are a response to that. Some of the straight 6 engines used to be so clean, you could almost step in beside the engine, then the hoses showed up. Now, the manufacturers hide everything under a big cover.
Hey Jay, these Trans Ams are so much fun to drive!!!! Back in the mid eighties I had a black 80 Trans Am with a 6.6 V8 & velour seats!!! It was a blast to drive but had a small trunk!!! Thanks for sharing another fun video!!! 👍👍🙂
The reason why there are so many hoses is because those cars were built in the smog era, plus all of those emissions items also robbed the engine of its horse power
The p is for park the r is for racing the d is for daytime driving and the n is for nighttime driving but it doesn’t go any where and yes the s is for super. Great video, joking aside I own a 1980 turbo trans am with the most hated engine out there the turbo 301 engine.
Enjoy all second generation Firebird content. 10 months late commenting on this video, but a few small corrections to ad. First...the RTS badge means Radial Tuned Suspension. The S on the shifter indicator signifies Second gear. Not Super. And of course Catalytic convertor. I currently own 3 Firebirds. 1976 455 four speed Trans Am. 1977 Formula 350 4 speed. 1980 base model 4 speed with the exceptionally pathetic 231 Buick V6. Which if memory serves had only 110 horsepower when new. Probably near 53 wheel horsepower in its current state. 😂 My 1976 TA was missing its original 455 when I purchased it as a project. I dropped in a built 1965 425 Oldsmobile Super Rocket. In addition to headers, true dual exhaust, Wilwood disc brakes,Hotchkiss suspenion , and upgraded the original Borg Warner Super T-10 transmission to a Tremec TKO 600 modified by Silver Sport Transmissions to make it direct drop in replacement with shifter relocation modification. Second generation Trans Ams are undoubtedly the best best looking American cars from the 1970s in my opinion. Really wanted a 1970-1973 but, they've gotten very expensive. I was fortunate enough to find a 1972 complete front end for next to nothing and currently swapping it onto my 1976 TA. Firebird values keep going up. Especially with the four speed manual transmission. Side note...my 1980 base model Firebird came with a 24 hour/ military time clock in it, factory installed/OEM. Anybody out there familiar with that option? I'm open for questions and comments on anything 2nd generation related. Just like and reply. ✌
Thank you so much for all that insight and information I really appreciate it I’m just a car enthusiast I’m not an expert some information on various cars it’s really hard to find and I definitely appreciate you guys sharing your knowledge that’s what this channel is more than a channel to community =) But I do have to correct you because according to the manual it’s super range for Pontiac and Oldsmobile referring to a specific transmission facebook.com/groups/707697117215381/permalink/879610036690754/?mibextid=K8Wfd2 I also just shared it in the community tab
I'm certainly not an expert either but most all cars with a GM 3 speed auto had shift indicators with L for Low (or first gear), S for second, and D for drive. It's great to see your younger generation taking an interest in older/classic cars. Keep it up!
Go to the community tab and read it it’s very interesting I totally agree that’s generally what S stands for but not on that transmission.. I worked at the Classic Car dealership last year and my boss told me about super and I just looked at him weird I was like that second and he’s like no it’s called super lol and then got out the handbook and showed me it’s just hard to find owners manuals that actually have it in there when I went to do my buddies GTO last year he had one and I took a picture of his handbook and he’s like you’re right it’s called super
I drove a 77 Formula that belonged to a friend. It was a 400 / 4 speed car, silver with red vinyl interior. His wife had a "Blue Bird" car also a 77. I liked the clean lines of the Formula over the T/A. I had a 79 T/A turbo 4.9 car. Slowest muscle car I ever had! Would love to own a 79 Formula.
It is slow.. no doubt about that.. but still a cool car for the era I shifted it manually to see if I could get more out of it. Has a lot of torque but didn’t translate to speed. Funny story I drove a 65 olds starfire episode coming this week might be the next episode not sure (life got super busy and wasn’t able to post last week going to make up for it this week) 425 cid 375HP and it wasn’t fast but was super smooth and whisper quiet.. so finding out cars are equations I’ve driven cars that have half that horsepower and are faster 289 mustang.. I drove a 2012 camaro Hennessey (I didn’t shoot a video of it had to road test it) 602 super charged HP and couldn’t put the power down the rear would kick out every time you got on it didn’t matter the gear.. I’ve driven all three the 2013 mustang camaro and challenger the mustang is the best in my opinion it just goes there is hesitation with the camaro (I’ve driven the henney as well as the ss both had the hesitation issue) the challenger I was able to chip the wheels in third that’s a fun car to drive as well Cool comparison coming judge vs bandit =) can the bandit out run the judge.. NO lol
Don't know what you are going on about. The 6.6 in 1977 Y82 designation put out 200 hp and 325 foot pounds. Hardly a race car. They ran high 16s in the low 80s for mile an hour. As for one of the best cars in the malaise area? The 77 was great looking but probably the slowest of the malaise era. The 76 still had the 455 and the 78 had a 220 hp 6.6. For me, this would be the last year I would consider.
Don’t need to back off when shifting, you don’t back off when it shifts gear in D so why would you when selecting gears? It’s not a manual trans. Also “Smokey” did not drive a Trans Am, “The Bandit” did.
I was told to back off so the gears have time to engage with a manual transmission you technically due back off the gas because it takes a moment to push in the clutch and in that moment you were off the gas.. thank you for that correction I should have said you feel like the bandit flipped them =)
The 77 while great looking was the slowest year of the trans am. The 75 and 76 had the 455 with a hair more torque and the 78 had a better cam, 3.42 gears and dual mufflers. If you want performance you want pre or post 77.
I had a 79 back in the day ,, I remember that if you had the automatic transmission. The shifter was a “poor man’s” his and her shifter that Hurst had as a option on older performance Pontiac. In the normal way ( straight back and forth) just as any other car. But if it was put in low when taking off you could slam shift by move it the shifter forward and to the right just like a Hurst shifter. It would shift the trans the next gear up every time it was moved just like a race shifter. Unfortunately it’s not mentioned anywhere in the owners manual I happened to find out about it from a friend that worked at a dealership.
I’m dyslexic so sometimes things are literally not what they seem. Sometimes I have to really look at some thing and it turns into something totally different so that was my bad lol
So, where ya been for a week? And man can I give you horror storys regarding warranty issues on these from when I was a service manger at a Pontic dealership during those years. They were the number 1 warranty expense for years. Lots of fun to drive though. Vinyl on door panel. Pull straps constantly coming loose, dash pads warping, replaced over 100 of them. Large door? Yep, sagging issues. Head room? I'm 5.6, there isn't much headroom, rear seat, nope no room. Shall we talki about the customer who's keys dropped into the gas tank while opening the trunk? Aftermarket A/C in that one. Decals? Tons of warranty replacement including the Bird - Paint? Tons of issues. Leaking honeycomb wheels, yep. Lots of differential redo's, why? Whines (depended on ratios) Positraction? Sticking, unless modifier added. Good review and this is a nice one.
I had to build five cabinets last week before I left I’m going to Georgia for a week but trust me I’m gonna make up for it.. going down there to visit family.. shot a weeks worth of episodes but never had time to edit them I went to a trade show with my mom over the weekend and I was hoping to have episodes posted but didn’t have Internet connection..
Aw that’s great to hear that you look forward to these =) Driving to Georgia from Pennsylvania today should get there around five I’m gonna try to have one up tonight as well I just don’t know which one lol
Normally, as I was told, it was not too recommended to down shift a pre-80 automatic transmission for engine brake , especially to "Low" gear as that equivalent to 1st.gear of a manual box. Not only that shifting into "Low" did not provide too much engine braking, as you have to slow down to such a extent that the box allows to down shift without blowing up the engine, all that excessive stress will cause planetary gear to fail prematurely. Especially for the older box that have much wider gear ratio between gears and older types of materials used.
I had a fmx three speed in my mustang and it drove better when shifting it like that never had an issue I’ve heard people do blow them up but I think it’s because of not doing right one can’t be one the gas while shifting I said to back off and then shift.. One night I was coming home from work I was in the mustang and guy in front of me decided to slam on brakes for no reason we was going 65 getting up to speed on on-ramp it’s raining out too mind you mustang was the hardest car I’ve ever owned to stop brakes were tight and stiff to push down. Guy decides to dead stop in front of me I knew I couldn’t stop that fast it was wet out and dark so I shifted it to 2nd got speed down to 55 and then shifted it to 1st it was an emergency I didn’t want to hit them I thought for sure I was going to blow the transmission or rear end the grab that I felt is indescribable I stopped or came really close to stopping in record distance.. and better yet didn’t do any damage in the mustang if driving in drive 0-60 was 7.5 if shifted (I could hit 60 in first gear I did it all the time 5.5 seconds) I’ve heard mixed things but I’ve never had an issue got to respect it and not be on the power when doing it is my experience
I had one. Bought it new. It was fun to drive and very speedy. However it was also a piece of junk. Knobs would fall off. Once the cover of the heater air conditioning under the dash just fell off. Oh and the valve covers leaked oil on the temperature sending unit so it gave false reading and almost fried my engine being low on water and not knowing I was running hot. That being said I loved the car, wish I still had it. Oh and the paint faded after two years,
I had the opportunity to drive both this and a 70 judge if I was buying one back in the day I would’ve gone for the judge of the cheaper it was faster I will say the bandit did ride better but it was slow, and I even shifted it manually and I was still slow. The move makes it out to be this great car and it was just ok
Great looking car and I agree about the velour interior. Probably don't see that many with velour. Great instrument panel with the brushed aluminum. I do not understand the letting off the gas to shift. Makes no sense to me. The transmissions are made to do it differently. It certainly does nothing for a race. The only thing it does is fake people out to thinking that you have a 3 or 4 speed (very slow shifting though). Just let the transmission do its thing like they are made to do. Shift it manually with your foot in it, if you must. Much better for everything, less stress on the drive line. LOL...crotch ventilators! GM was good at that.
I was told to let off so one doesn’t mash gears together just like in a clutch car one isn’t on the gas when clutch is pressed you can get it close to that experience it wasn’t my car so wasn’t hard on it
@@What.its.like. nope. I traded it for a guitar that I traded for a 12 string Yamaha that I traded for a new 10” Milwaukee compound miter saw. That all happened in about 2 months. I used the saw on Thursday. I wonder if I could trade the saw for a trans am.
It’s super in olds and Pontiac that’s what the owner’s manual says during this era Super range If it was second it would have a 2 en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/GM_Roto_Hydramatic_transmission#:~:text=Chevy%20and%20Ford.-,Technical%20details,and%20all%20Pontiacs%20in%201964. Go to technical pull down it’s all laid out right there
I had 12 of these cars , and you are wrong about the gear shifter. It's low, second ( not super ) and drive. If your going to do a review of something, you should actually know what your talking about.
The owner’s manual says super.. I’ll link it you can argue with it.. facebook.com/groups/707697117215381/permalink/879610036690754/?mibextid=K8Wfd2 You’ve had 12 of these and never knew S stands for SUPER ???
Trust me it’s not the dealer that’s a consignment car. it’s the owner.. people that own these cars think they’re worth $1 million it’s not that great of a car there’s so many better cars like the GTO judge is better than his car Smokey and the bandit the movie made this car into an icon but it does not drive like that it’s really slow and it doesn’t get out of its own way even if you shift gears manually.. I had an 88 Lincoln town car that rode better than it and it was faster..
Jimi Hendrix Foxy Lady
You got it =)
@@What.its.like. “You Got It” is a favorite song of mine by Roy Orbison. 😁 it was released posthumously.
I just bought a BEAUTIFUL Black and Gold ‘77 Trans-Am. I’ve wanted one since I was 10 years old after seeing “Smokey and the Bandit” for the first time. I still can’t BELIEVE I own one! Gone is the Olds 403 and in went an LS2 engine. It is an AMAZING car and the best looking car EVER made…in my opinion. 🤠
A few random corrections... "S" on the transmission is not Super, it is Second. The spare is not a donut, it is an inflatable spare. I believe the Olds 403 engine was for California due to their emissions requirements. There was no leather in this era. Radial Tuned Suspension, not Radical. Downshifting will always slow a car - nothing new there - still works that way. Most of the hoses are vacuum lines which controlled many engine functions (especially emission controls) prior to the introduction of basic "computer" controls in the 1980's.
I’ve gotten corrected for 2nd being super on the three speed hydra matic, I’ve been corrected both ways, a lot of people now don’t know one can drive an automatic like a stick zack was like what are you doing when I was shifting the car manually so I figured I’d explain it don’t want to over rev the engine doing it, but get you more control on shifts
Thank you so much for the corrections =)
S is for second gear not super.
I owned a 77 Trans Am
back in the day
awesome car
And loads of fun to drive
😎🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸
That’s awesome did you have one like the bandit or what color was yours? =)
@@What.its.like.
it was the bandit edition, 6.6 L.
Gotta love the Bandit Trans AM brother (its my Pontiac of all time).
Being a kid in '77 and going to the theater to see Smokey and the Bandit when it first came out, I was immediately hooked on these cars! About a year later , a young couple in our neighborhood got one, I loved hearing that engine startup and seeing moving down the road! They kept it for many years, and eventually traded it in for a viper I believe. I remember too seeing the gold '78 anniversary editions on the road also occasionally, which looked awesome also. Another great video Jay! 😎
Great story thank you so much for sharing that awesome memory =) glad you liked this video
Love this second gen trans am very iconic and collectable
That car wouldn’t get out of its own way even when I shifted it manual
A lot of the hoses that appeared in the 70s and 80s were for emissions control. All kinds of vacuum, crank case ventilation and warm up regulation devices. As they age they can cause all kinds of lean running problems when they get stuck open.
Just always blew my mind looking at say 67 mustang engine bay so clean no nonsense fast forward mark v has so much plumbing but makes sense that it’s for emissions
Jimi Hendrix an experience " Foxy " , love the 1977 78 Trans am my favourite muscle car , i will own one soon , great vid all best from Liverpool in UK 💯👍🏽
The "Bandit" version had a "T" top. In California the only engine available was the Olds 403 V8, with TH350 auto. The label under the hood on the core support indicated which engine it had and the vacuum hose routing. The A/C compressor is an aftermarket replacement compressor. The original would have been a GM Harrison A6. All those vacuum hoses are for emission controls.
Thank you so much for those corrections and insight =)
The car on “Knight Rider” was also a T-top if I remember correctly. It had been customized for the show to make it more futuristic. But it was actually a Transam.
@@glennso47 There were multiple Trans Am's made for the "Knight Rider" TV show by George Barris. There was one which had the complete TV functional interior and multiple stunt models modified to do specific stunts. Most were not Trans Am's, as could be seen, especially when flying through the air in a stunt.It was obvious that the stunt car had a TH200C automatic and was probably a 4 or 6cyl car. There was even a special one made for the C.A.R.R. episode. The Trans Am was basically an appearance option and all the unique parts were available for purchase and be added to any "T" top or solid roof Firebird.
On one trip to Universal Studios, they had the complete K.I.T.T. car in an upper-level courtyard, which you could converse with. Ofcourse the voice wasn't William Daniel's.
On the studio tour, I saw a couple more K.I.T.T. cars. You can see one of the later tours on RUclips and they have a K.I.T.T. Trans Am parked in death row near the Pontiac Fiero-based Ferrari that Tom Selleck drove in the "Magnum P.I." TV show.
I can't begin to tell you how many "Back To The Future" Deloreans I've seen at Universal.
It's TV and movies man. Deception is common place.
S stands for second ⚙️.
Along with the loss of horsepower, the smog regulations also forced the manufacturers to clean up the emissions. All the hoses are a response to that. Some of the straight 6 engines used to be so clean, you could almost step in beside the engine, then the hoses showed up. Now, the manufacturers hide everything under a big cover.
Just always wondered why engine bays looks so clean up to that point but that totally makes Sense
Hoses were by and large for emission control purposes. Did not have computer controls and O2 sensors back in the day, so they used other means.
Hey Jay, these Trans Ams are so much fun to drive!!!! Back in the mid eighties I had a black 80 Trans Am with a 6.6 V8 & velour seats!!! It was a blast to drive but had a small trunk!!! Thanks for sharing another fun video!!! 👍👍🙂
I can’t get over how comfortable the seats were pillow posh seats lol in a muscle car
The reason why there are so many hoses is because those cars were built in the smog era, plus all of those emissions items also robbed the engine of its horse power
The p is for park the r is for racing the d is for daytime driving and the n is for nighttime driving but it doesn’t go any where and yes the s is for super. Great video, joking aside I own a 1980 turbo trans am with the most hated engine out there the turbo 301 engine.
Enjoy all second generation Firebird content.
10 months late commenting on this video, but a few small corrections to ad.
First...the RTS badge means Radial Tuned Suspension.
The S on the shifter indicator signifies Second gear. Not Super.
And of course Catalytic convertor.
I currently own 3 Firebirds.
1976 455 four speed Trans Am.
1977 Formula 350 4 speed.
1980 base model 4 speed with the exceptionally pathetic 231 Buick V6. Which if memory serves had only 110 horsepower when new. Probably near 53 wheel horsepower in its current state. 😂
My 1976 TA was missing its original 455 when I purchased it as a project.
I dropped in a built 1965 425 Oldsmobile Super Rocket. In addition to headers, true dual exhaust, Wilwood disc brakes,Hotchkiss suspenion , and upgraded the original Borg Warner Super T-10 transmission to a Tremec TKO 600 modified by Silver Sport Transmissions to make it direct drop in replacement with shifter relocation modification.
Second generation Trans Ams are undoubtedly the best best looking American cars from the 1970s in my
opinion.
Really wanted a 1970-1973 but, they've gotten very expensive. I was fortunate enough to find a 1972 complete front end for next to nothing and currently swapping it onto my 1976 TA.
Firebird values keep going up. Especially with the four speed manual transmission.
Side note...my 1980 base model Firebird came with a 24 hour/ military time clock in it, factory installed/OEM.
Anybody out there familiar with that option?
I'm open for questions and comments on anything 2nd generation related. Just like and reply. ✌
Thank you so much for all that insight and information I really appreciate it I’m just a car enthusiast I’m not an expert some information on various cars it’s really hard to find and I definitely appreciate you guys sharing your knowledge that’s what this channel is more than a channel to community =)
But I do have to correct you because according to the manual it’s super range for Pontiac and Oldsmobile referring to a specific transmission
facebook.com/groups/707697117215381/permalink/879610036690754/?mibextid=K8Wfd2
I also just shared it in the community tab
I'm certainly not an expert either but most all cars with a GM 3 speed auto had shift indicators with L for Low (or first gear), S for second, and D for drive.
It's great to see your younger generation taking an interest in older/classic cars. Keep it up!
Go to the community tab and read it it’s very interesting I totally agree that’s generally what S stands for but not on that transmission..
I worked at the Classic Car dealership last year and my boss told me about super and I just looked at him weird I was like that second and he’s like no it’s called super lol and then got out the handbook and showed me it’s just hard to find owners manuals that actually have it in there when I went to do my buddies GTO last year he had one and I took a picture of his handbook and he’s like you’re right it’s called super
"Smokey" never drove the Trans Am, the "bandit" did. That's why it's named the Bandit Edition.
Thank you for that correction
Love the Firebird line. My favorite cars. Almost funny though that my fully loaded 1998 Y87 Firebird is much more uncommon than many Trans Ams.
I drove a 77 Formula that belonged to a friend. It was a 400 / 4 speed car, silver with red vinyl interior. His wife had a "Blue Bird" car also a 77. I liked the clean lines of the Formula over the T/A. I had a 79 T/A turbo 4.9 car. Slowest muscle car I ever had! Would love to own a 79 Formula.
It is slow.. no doubt about that.. but still a cool car for the era I shifted it manually to see if I could get more out of it. Has a lot of torque but didn’t translate to speed.
Funny story I drove a 65 olds starfire episode coming this week might be the next episode not sure (life got super busy and wasn’t able to post last week going to make up for it this week) 425 cid 375HP and it wasn’t fast but was super smooth and whisper quiet.. so finding out cars are equations I’ve driven cars that have half that horsepower and are faster 289 mustang.. I drove a 2012 camaro Hennessey (I didn’t shoot a video of it had to road test it) 602 super charged HP and couldn’t put the power down the rear would kick out every time you got on it didn’t matter the gear.. I’ve driven all three the 2013 mustang camaro and challenger the mustang is the best in my opinion it just goes there is hesitation with the camaro (I’ve driven the henney as well as the ss both had the hesitation issue) the challenger I was able to chip the wheels in third that’s a fun car to drive as well
Cool comparison coming judge vs bandit =) can the bandit out run the judge.. NO lol
@@What.its.like. So slow in fact that the stunt cars used in "Smokey and the Bandit" were Chevy powered!
W78 had 6x4 heads higher compression , bigger cam , higher flow oil pump , bigger cam , better block, baffle oil pan , bigger jetts carb , they wete underated nhra dyno them @ 260 280 hp with exhaust and tune 300 335 hp
Don't know what you are going on about. The 6.6 in 1977 Y82 designation put out 200 hp and 325 foot pounds. Hardly a race car. They ran high 16s in the low 80s for mile an hour. As for one of the best cars in the malaise area? The 77 was great looking but probably the slowest of the malaise era. The 76 still had the 455 and the 78 had a 220 hp 6.6. For me, this would be the last year I would consider.
Don’t need to back off when shifting, you don’t back off when it shifts gear in D so why would you when selecting gears? It’s not a manual trans. Also “Smokey” did not drive a Trans Am, “The Bandit” did.
I was told to back off so the gears have time to engage with a manual transmission you technically due back off the gas because it takes a moment to push in the clutch and in that moment you were off the gas.. thank you for that correction I should have said you feel like the bandit flipped them =)
The 77 while great looking was the slowest year of the trans am. The 75 and 76 had the 455 with a hair more torque and the 78 had a better cam, 3.42 gears and dual mufflers. If you want performance you want pre or post 77.
I had a 79 back in the day ,, I remember that if you had the automatic transmission. The shifter was a “poor man’s” his and her shifter that Hurst had as a option on older performance Pontiac. In the normal way ( straight back and forth) just as any other car. But if it was put in low when taking off you could slam shift by move it the shifter forward and to the right just like a Hurst shifter. It would shift the trans the next gear up every time it was moved just like a race shifter. Unfortunately it’s not mentioned anywhere in the owners manual I happened to find out about it from a friend that worked at a dealership.
Awesome information I didn’t know this one didn’t have that one it I don’t believe
"Radically tuned suspension". LOL!Didn't need to zoom in to know it's "Radial..."
I’m dyslexic so sometimes things are literally not what they seem. Sometimes I have to really look at some thing and it turns into something totally different so that was my bad lol
So, where ya been for a week? And man can I give you horror storys regarding warranty issues on these from when I was a service manger at a Pontic dealership during those years. They were the number 1 warranty expense for years. Lots of fun to drive though. Vinyl on door panel. Pull straps constantly coming loose, dash pads warping, replaced over 100 of them. Large door? Yep, sagging issues. Head room? I'm 5.6, there isn't much headroom, rear seat, nope no room. Shall we talki about the customer who's keys dropped into the gas tank while opening the trunk? Aftermarket A/C in that one. Decals? Tons of warranty replacement including the Bird - Paint? Tons of issues. Leaking honeycomb wheels, yep. Lots of differential redo's, why? Whines (depended on ratios) Positraction? Sticking, unless modifier added. Good review and this is a nice one.
I had to build five cabinets last week before I left I’m going to Georgia for a week but trust me I’m gonna make up for it.. going down there to visit family.. shot a weeks worth of episodes but never had time to edit them I went to a trade show with my mom over the weekend and I was hoping to have episodes posted but didn’t have Internet connection..
@@What.its.like. Sounds like you were busy for sure. Just missed the daily shows - a lot.
Take care Jay.
Aw that’s great to hear that you look forward to these =)
Driving to Georgia from Pennsylvania today should get there around five
I’m gonna try to have one up tonight as well I just don’t know which one lol
More emissions and added luxury items mean more hoses and lines under the hood
Normally, as I was told, it was not too recommended to down shift a pre-80 automatic transmission for engine brake , especially to "Low" gear as that equivalent to 1st.gear of a manual box. Not only that shifting into "Low" did not provide too much engine braking, as you have to slow down to such a extent that the box allows to down shift without blowing up the engine, all that excessive stress will cause planetary gear to fail prematurely. Especially for the older box that have much wider gear ratio between gears and older types of materials used.
I had a fmx three speed in my mustang and it drove better when shifting it like that never had an issue I’ve heard people do blow them up but I think it’s because of not doing right one can’t be one the gas while shifting I said to back off and then shift..
One night I was coming home from work I was in the mustang and guy in front of me decided to slam on brakes for no reason we was going 65 getting up to speed on on-ramp it’s raining out too mind you mustang was the hardest car I’ve ever owned to stop brakes were tight and stiff to push down. Guy decides to dead stop in front of me I knew I couldn’t stop that fast it was wet out and dark so I shifted it to 2nd got speed down to 55 and then shifted it to 1st it was an emergency I didn’t want to hit them I thought for sure I was going to blow the transmission or rear end the grab that I felt is indescribable I stopped or came really close to stopping in record distance.. and better yet didn’t do any damage in the mustang if driving in drive 0-60 was 7.5 if shifted (I could hit 60 in first gear I did it all the time 5.5 seconds)
I’ve heard mixed things but I’ve never had an issue got to respect it and not be on the power when doing it is my experience
Is that the car that we saw on “Knightrider “ where the car talks and could drive itself? It had moving lights across the front.
I had one. Bought it new. It was fun to drive and very speedy. However it was also a piece of junk. Knobs would fall off. Once the cover of the heater air conditioning under the dash just fell off. Oh and the valve covers leaked oil on the temperature sending unit so it gave false reading and almost fried my engine being low on water and not knowing I was running hot. That being said I loved the car, wish I still had it. Oh and the paint faded after two years,
I had the opportunity to drive both this and a 70 judge if I was buying one back in the day I would’ve gone for the judge of the cheaper it was faster I will say the bandit did ride better but it was slow, and I even shifted it manually and I was still slow. The move makes it out to be this great car and it was just ok
all us kid s wanted a bandit trans am for our first car if we where 16 in 1977
Yeah Bert Reynolds made that car into an absolute legend =)
Great looking car and I agree about the velour interior. Probably don't see that many with velour. Great instrument panel with the brushed aluminum.
I do not understand the letting off the gas to shift. Makes no sense to me. The transmissions are made to do it differently. It certainly does nothing for a race. The only thing it does is fake people out to thinking that you have a 3 or 4 speed (very slow shifting though). Just let the transmission do its thing like they are made to do. Shift it manually with your foot in it, if you must. Much better for everything, less stress on the drive line.
LOL...crotch ventilators! GM was good at that.
I was told to let off so one doesn’t mash gears together just like in a clutch car one isn’t on the gas when clutch is pressed you can get it close to that experience it wasn’t my car so wasn’t hard on it
at 245 it shows a 77 T/A with a 80 hood.
Had a 78 back in the mid 90’s. Blew the motor and traded it for a $300 pistol!😢
That’s crazy.. do you still have the pistol wish you had the car back?
@@What.its.like. nope. I traded it for a guitar that I traded for a 12 string Yamaha that I traded for a new 10” Milwaukee compound miter saw. That all happened in about 2 months. I used the saw on Thursday. I wonder if I could trade the saw for a trans am.
=D
Foxy Lady - Hendricks
Yeah buddy
The Transam was a mechanical twin to the Chevy Camaro I think. At least there wasn’t much difference. Correct me if I’m wrong. Thanks.
Body wise they were very similar but power trains are different I believe
@@What.its.like. Thank you
78" Trans Am with 400 Pontiac and 4 speed manual transmission beat all Camaros from eighties.
@@What.its.like. Trans Am faster
Foxey Lady Jimi Hendrix.
You got it someone got it before you =)
THIS is my ULTIMATE DREAM CAR!! One day.....🥳🔥🤟🏾😎🥺
Radial Tuned Suspension-For Radial Tires not bias Ply not radical tuned
I’m dyslexic it’s one hell of a thing to live with I swear that’s what it said but after watching the footage back radial tuned lol
Bonjour peut tu Un Barracuda 1966 merci?
Yes I’ve been looking for one I’ll definitely hit that one =)
Well, I never liked the "Bandit" movie but now appreciate the special details more.
Comparison episode coming this vs the judge
Are you from up north?😄
What was the y88 ?
🏎️🏁⚡️
It's second gear not super 😂😂
It’s super in olds and Pontiac that’s what the owner’s manual says during this era
Super range
If it was second it would have a 2
en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/GM_Roto_Hydramatic_transmission#:~:text=Chevy%20and%20Ford.-,Technical%20details,and%20all%20Pontiacs%20in%201964.
Go to technical pull down it’s all laid out right there
I had 12 of these cars , and you are wrong about the gear shifter. It's low, second ( not super ) and drive. If your going to do a review of something, you should actually know what your talking about.
The owner’s manual says super..
I’ll link it you can argue with it..
facebook.com/groups/707697117215381/permalink/879610036690754/?mibextid=K8Wfd2
You’ve had 12 of these and never knew S stands for SUPER ???
I just looked up the price of that vehicle. 529k? Yeah that dealer is NUTS! He will be sitting on that car for a WHILE. LOL 🥸
Trust me it’s not the dealer that’s a consignment car.
it’s the owner.. people that own these cars think they’re worth $1 million it’s not that great of a car there’s so many better cars like the GTO judge is better than his car Smokey and the bandit the movie made this car into an icon but it does not drive like that it’s really slow and it doesn’t get out of its own way even if you shift gears manually.. I had an 88 Lincoln town car that rode better than it and it was faster..
👍👍👍👍👍
Hoses equals technology
Hahaha just like red paint and decals = horsepower